Retail Trends and Technology That Will Change the Industry in 2018 and Beyond

Posted on February 28, 2018

In today’s retail landscape, particularly for major malls and shopping centers, the customer experience is the chief concern. For any physical retailer, providing a good in-store experience for customers is the best way to combat the growth of e-commerce and changing consumer preferences.

Consumers have all the buying power – they are the retail trendsetters. Retailers need to implement advanced technology to identify those trends in order to capitalize on them. This is why some of the most promising retail technologies revolve around collecting data on consumers’ interactions with retail spaces.

Mobile Location Data for Major Malls, Shopping Centers, and Retail Stores in 2018

One of the most impactful retail technologies being deployed today is mobile location data. This retail technology is used to collect customers’ mobile GPS data while they visit a major mall, shopping center or any other destination geo-fenced to collect GPS observations. This data can be used to analyze shopping behavior, such as the flow of traffic throughout a center, cross shopping patterns, entrance activity and common locations where visitors pause.

All of this also works to improve a customer’s experience – they’ll enjoy going to shopping centers and malls when their own personal tastes and needs are satisfied.

Anonymized GPS device data can also be tracked back to a customer’s likely residential location and cross referenced with consumer profile data. This creates highly accurate demographics for targeted marketing, competitive insight and more informed site selection decisions, among the many other benefits that come with deep market insight.

Transformative Retail Technology on the Horizon

The retail industry is betting big on the importance of customer experiences. Retail technology in the near future will revolutionize the shopping experience.

Virtual Reality: soon, retail stores will be using virtual reality technology to simulate store experiences with personalized products. Retailers will be able to track customer’s eye movements and virtual interactions with store merchandise to improve their product offerings and fine-tune sales and marketing tactics.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): future retail stores will be equipped with sensors and cameras to monitor which way customers walk, which items they handle and even which shelves they tend to look at. AI technology will be used to analyze this visual data and present the results in a digestible form. This could allow retailers to optimize where they place products to increase sales, monitor suspicious behavior, and have access real-time inventory data.

Blockchain: the blockchain, commonly known as the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies, will eventually lead to significant supply chain innovations in retail. Customers will be able to independently verify the origin and authenticity of the products they’re purchasing. In this way, retailers will build trust with customers and cater to the growing trend of conscious consumerism.

Retail technology of the future will transform the shopping experience. Every interaction will be tracked and dissected for the sake of improving the customer’s experience and growing sales revenue.

Today, mobile location data is the start of a radical future in retail technology. Mobile location data is a great way to begin collecting customer data and improving retail experiences. Those who begin to improve the customer experience now will be able to combat the broader obstacles facing physical retailers and set themselves up for the future of highly technological retail.

To learn more, see how DMM data is integrated with mobile location data for deep market insight with RealSite™ Trade Areas. The Directory of Major Malls partnered with UberRetail and B.I. Spatial to create this cutting-edge location analysis product.